Picture Perfect: Using Drone Technology and Photogrammetry Techniques to Map the Western Stone Forts of Ireland

ABSTRACT

The Western Stone Forts form some of the most spectacular archaeological monuments in Ireland and include well known sites such as Dún Aonghasa in Co. Galway and Cahercommaun in Co. Clare. The group comprises a number of heterogeneous forts characterized by their exceptionally thick and high stone walls and other distinctive architectural features such as terraces, steps, guard chambers, and chevaux de fries. It is clear, however, that they form a loosely defined group of monuments that have a broad chronological span ranging from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Medieval period. The aim of this project is to create a complete suite of high resolution three-dimensional models of the Western Stone Forts on the Tentative List of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and assess the applicability of photogrammetry techniques to landscape studies and heritage management.

KEYWORDS:

• Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
• Western Stone Forts
• photogrammetry
• GIS

Acknowledgments

The author would like to acknowledge the Royal Irish Academy, which helped to fund this project as part of their Directed Research for World Heritage Sites grant scheme. He would also like to thank the two anonymous reviewers and the journal editor, Christina Luke, for their helpful comments.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on Contributor

James O’Driscoll (Ph.D. 2016, University College Cork, Ireland) is interested in the application of remote sensing and GIS based techniques in archaeology, with particular emphasis on prehistoric enclosures and Bronze Age hillforts, their contemporary landscapes, and their socio-economic settings. He is currently a Research Fellow at the University of Aberdeen, as part of the Comparative Kingship Project.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Royal Irish Academy.